The Last Straw
by fandomtrashpanda
Summary: Chapter 2: Pyrrha had only intended to go to the sporting goods' store, not find a cute boy crying over a puddle of ramen in the food court. Jaune/Pyrrha
1. Chapter 1

"You found me in the mall crying over a bowl of noodles I dropped and I s2g I'm not usually like this I'm just having a really weird week AU" Of all of the things that had made Jaune's week awful, he felt like dropping his bowl of ramen was the icing on the cake. Until he was found crying over it by one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen.

* * *

He was rejected by the girl of his dreams.

He lost one of his three jobs.

His sister was getting divorced and was staying with him until the papers were finalized (and he was starting to understand why the guy was divorcing her).

He lost his favorite hoodie at the laundromat.

He had lost track of his assignments and wound up missing a crucial paper to one of his classes.

Overall, Jaune was just overwhelmed by his week and everything that was going on. He just wanted a bowl of noodles from his favorite restaurant in the mall. His best friend manned the register and knew how bad his week had been, so he gave Jaune a discount, which was a plus.

But in the effort to make Jaune feel better, the chef added a little too much ramen to the plastic cup; just enough for it to tip over and fall out of Jaune's hands when he was nearly to a table. Everything seemed to slow down as he cried out, the plastic cup breaking from the force with which it hit the ground and sending the contents splattering.

" _No_!" He cried out, falling to his knees in the puddle of broth and sobbing into his hands, vaguely aware of his friend saying something over a walkie about needing a janitor in the food court. He sobbed into his hands for a moment until he heard someone clearing their voice, a gentle hand tapping his shoulder.

"Are you… okay?" Said a girl's voice, and he sniffled while looking up, his heart skipping a beat.

Red hair in a high ponytail, a few pieces falling loose and framing a soft-looking face with the most intense green eyes he had ever seen. She was as pretty as Weiss, but a different _kind_ of pretty.

And he was kneeling in a puddle of chicken broth, crying over spilled noodles.

"Not really," he admitted, moving to stand up and yelping when he slipped in the broth, landing on his butt. "If you could just leave me here to die, that'd be great," he sighed while hiding his face, peeking through his fingers when he heard her giggle.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be laughing," she said, shaking her head. "Here, let me help you -" she held out her hand for him to take, which he did. If the moment were some kind of meet-cute she would have slipped and fallen on top of him, but she was surprisingly sturdy and helped him stand with ease. "I… do you mind my asking…?" She gestured vaguely at the mess and he sighed again.

"I swear I'm not usually the type to cry over spilled ramen -" she giggled lightly, making him smile, "-but I've just had a really rough week. And I mean… really rough." The mall's cleaning lady wheeled up with a mop and a bucket, scowling at him. "Hi… Abby…" he muttered, stepping away from the mess with the cute girl.

"I'll tell you what," the cute girl said, tugging him over to a table and pulling a large towel out of the bag at her side, draping it over one of the chairs and gesturing for him to sit. "Seeing you crying over your ramen has touched my heart strings, and if you'd like, you can tell me about your rough week?"

"Are you sure you want me to sit on this?" He asked, gesturing at the towel as she took a seat opposite from it.

"I just bought it, I was going to wash it anyways," she said with a casual shrug.

"Well… if you're sure…" he said as he sat down, the towel easing some of the discomfort of his wet pants, but not enough for him to not feel his boxers sticking to his butt.

"So, you can start with your name?" The pretty girl said, her ponytail swishing as she tilted her head to the side.

"Oh, um, Jaune Arc. And you are…?"

"Pyrrha Nikos," she said, smiling at him as they shook hands. "Now, Jaune, what's got you so down that a bowl of ramen is enough to send you over the edge?"

"I think it started on Sunday when I found out that my sister is divorcing her husband…"

* * *

A/N: NEGL, I didn't really think of any of the hot mess!AU's applying to any of my ships until I rewatched RWBY and was like, "oh my god, JAUNE".


	2. First Impression

S/O to OculiImperator for making a really nifty suggestion: it would be cool to explore Pyrrha's side of this story. I was originally thinking of posting it in a separate thing, but since people followed this I figured it would be easier to just post it here. I hope you guys like it, because I love how Pyrrha is so sympathetic to Jaune being a tragic cinnamon roll.

* * *

 **First Impression**

Pyrrha had only planned on going to the mall for the sale at the sporting goods' store. It was storewide, buy-one-get-one on equipment and twenty-five percent off clothing, and it had the best high-impact sports bras for miles. And she left with an additional beach towel in her favorite shade of blue, so that was nice.

It was a wonderful day outside, she determined when she came in, so she wanted to do most of the walk to her car on the opposite side of the mall outside; which meant a shortcut through the food court.

Which meant she didn't miss the person crying over a massive puddle of broth with a pile of noodles in front of them like a grave mound, the plastic cup on top of it like a headstone. She wasn't normally the type of person to pry on people's personal affairs, but the individual seemed genuinely distraught; so, she shouldered her bags and approached the sobbing person slowly, reaching over and tapping their back delicately.

"Are you… okay?" She said carefully as she stepped back to give them room to look up. Her boots clicked on the clean tile as she stepped away when movement from the person caused the puddle to spread, ever-so-slightly. She was surprised when lovely blue eyes swimming in tears looked up at her as the young man sniffed, looking equally surprised as her.

"Not really," he croaked, moving to stand up; unfortunately, his sneakers squeaked on the wet floor and he yelped while falling back, more of the broth and some noodles splashing as he landed on his butt. He groaned in dismay, hiding his face behind his hands as he said, "If you could just leave me alone to die, that'd be great."

She didn't know if it was the fact that he was easily her age, or the red she had seen blooming on his cheeks when he looked up at her, but something about the boy tickled her, and so she laughed. She felt ashamed when she noticed him peeking at her through his fingers and stifled her giggles.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be laughing," she apologized before offering him her hand and saying, "here - let me help you." She did notice the surprise on his face when she helped him to his feet easily, especially when his eyes darted down to her high-heeled boots.

If her father were there he would have told her that she had done the minimum amount for being a good person, and that was the moment for her to dismiss herself by wishing him a good day and leaving. But she looked between the cute boy and the puddle of ramen that he had been kneeling in, and her curiosity won an internal argument that she didn't even notice.

"I…" she struggled to think of a way to phrase her question and settled on gesturing vaguely at the mess while saying,"do you mind my asking…?"

"I swear I'm not usually the type to cry over spilled ramen -" she giggled, her mind going to a puddle of milk in her kitchen when she was six, "-but I've just had a really rough week. And I mean… really rough." She heard squeaking behind her and turned to see the mall's cleaning staff with a mop and bucket. "Hi… Abby…" the stranger said to her, and the look on her face implied that this was not a rare occurrence.

The line her father would have drawn grew further away as she looked at the boy and his broth-drenched pants. Her heart won out, and she smiled.

"I'll tell you what," the she said, tugging him towards a nearby table by his elbow and reaching into her shopping back to pull out the towel she had bought earlier - coincidentally, it was the same color as his eyes - and draped it over one of the chairs, gesturing at it for him to sit. "Seeing you crying over ramen has touched my heart strings, and if you'd like, you can tell me about it?"

He eyed the towel with trepidation as she took the seat across from it, setting her bags down at her feet.

"Are you sure you want me to sit on this?" He asked, his eyebrows knitted together cutely as he pointed at the towel.

"I just bought it, I was going to wash it anyways," she said with a casual shrug.

"Well… if you're sure…" he said as he sat down, the towel muffling the squelch of his wet pants. She saw the look of discomfort on his face and a thought dawned on her.

"So, you can start with your name?" She asked him while tilting her head to the side.

"Oh, um…" he looked confused before smiling weakly and extending his hand, saying, "Jaune Arc. And you are…?"

"Pyrrha Nikos," she said her name, shaking his firmly before letting it go so she could fold her hands on the table. "Now, Jaune, what's got you so down that a bowl of ramen is enough to send you over the edge?" She didn't miss the way his shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath.

"I think it started on Sunday when I found out that my sister is divorcing her husband…"

* * *

A/N: I have a few vague ideas (extremely vague) of where I could go with this, and since I'm still cranking out prompts from my list it isn't really up near the top.

I just love Pyrrha Nikos enough that I would fling myself into the sun for her. (Yes, I'm up to date on RWBY, don't remind me)


End file.
